The Dangers and Perks of Socially Watching Toku
by Cosmic Humor
Summary: Naoto discovers that Chie has a similar passion for for heroes of justice, but there seems to be a deeper root of similarities beyond that.


It had been a slip of the tongue.

Naoto couldn't believe she had allowed herself to mention her fondness for something so... childish.

She should have been above it. After all, it was such a superficial aspect of herself. It didn't remove her analytical ability or her combat prowess, both of which were indispensable to the group. She had nothing to prove to anyone.

Why did the awkward stares make her feel so out of place then?

"Am I to assume then to assume that no one else here still regularly watches Featherman?" asked Naoto, doing her best to maintain her hardboiled visage.

"Well, I mean back when I was a kid..." Kanji said, trying to help. "I mean it was a lot of yeah-"

"Ooh!" came Chie's energetic voice. "I have! It was awesome! Particularly near the end where Featherman split into three versions of himself and he was 'woo-taaa!'" Chie struck a dramatic pose, similar to the one Featherman had struck last night.

A moment had passed and Chie's face had begun to redden. Naoto didn't even have to be as good at deduction as she was to realize Chie had regretted speaking.

"It was quite exciting." Naoto finally said. "I particularly like Lord Death Man's response upon seeing."

"Oooh, yeah!" Chie agreed. "He was all 'it does not matter if there are three of you or a thousand! You shall still perish at my hands!' It was so awesome!"

"I think it really marked a turning point for Featherman Blaster." Naoto said. "He's always been about self-sacrifice, but in this episode he starts to realize that to make those around him happy he needs to be happy as well."

"Yeaaahhh..." Chie said, not quite getting it. She then switched topics. "I love the Featherman Blaster's new form! It's got all those spike's and I've been practicing to try to Featherman Blast punch since!"

Naoto grimaced a bit. "I'm... fairly sure that move isn't physically possible, considering his fist sets aflame at the end."

"I knoooow." Chie said. "But it looked so cool!"

Narukami gave a gentle cough. "If we could return to the topic. We do have a test next week."

"A-absolutely." Naoto said, reddening a bit.  
.-

The study group was more or less productive. Naoto, Yu, and Yukiko had significantly less trouble than the others and even Rise was a surprisingly quick pick up with the material. Naoto ended up somehow helping Chie with her work even though she was somehow a year behind her.

"It's not that hard. With algebra you first solve the numbers you sure of. See this 'minus nine here? You take that out of the equation and then you subtract on the opposite to maintain the integrity of the equation."

"Ummmmm... Naoto?" Chie said. "I only understood like three words of that."

Naoto sighed. This was going to be more difficult than she thought.

.-

It ended up just being Chie and Naoto a good half-hour afterwards. "Okay, I think I get... I start with the numbers I know and then what I do to one side I do to the other, right?"

Naoto gave a sigh of relief. "Yes, that's exactly right."

Chie leaned back in her chair and stretched. "Finally..." she said. "I wanna go get some beef bowl and head home... all this thinking has drained me of protein."

"Actually, Satonaka-san..." Naoto said. "I was wondering if you'd like to... erm... come to my place for a bit."

"Errrm... what?"

Naoto turned bright red. "Well it's just- you see..." she paused. "I've just gotten some Featherman on DVD... the classic 1978 series and..." her face reddened even further. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in seeing them. It was a ridiculous idea. Forget I ever brought it up."

But to Naoto's surprise, Chie's eyes lighted up and a grin showed up on her face.

"The classic ones?" she said, charging up to look Naoto in the face. "Even the ones where Johnny Liu shows up as a bad guy?"

Naoto instinctively pulled back a little from Chie's imploring stare. "I don't know who that is." she admitted.

"Oh man, you're killin' me here!" Chie said in response. "He's been in like a gazillion kung fu movies in the eighties!"

"That's not a number." Naoto said half-heartedly, but Chie didn't seem to be paying much attention.

"Oh man, there's one movie where he fights a whole army of demon-robot-ninjas! You just have to see it!"

"Really." Naoto said.

"And he's so great as Kang the Unconquerable in Rise of the Dragon 2!" Chie continued, oblivious to how off-put her friend was. "Oh man, we gotta stop by my place and get my DVDs! We could make a whole marathon of it! Oh man, after all this studying this is just the thing I needed! Come on, let's go! You've never been to my house, have you?"

"No..." Naoto said, silently reserving herself to the fact that she had gotten herself into this.

"Oh man, we can alternate them!" Chie said. "We can watch three episodes of Featherman, then we can watch Trial of The Dragon, then we can watch three more, then Trial of The Dragon 2! Do you mind if we start with Johnny Liu in them?"

"I'd... really prefer to start from the beginning." Naoto said. "I still haven't seen them yet."

"Awww, but it's like seventy episodes long!" Chie said. "It's gonna take forever."

"Be that as it may,: Naoto said, standing up from her seat. "We need to have the proper mythology set up at the very least. Without the starting episodes we won't have a context for why the first Featherman decided to become a hero, and the subtleties of the theme will be lost of us if we don't watch his origin."

"You could always just look it up online..." Chie suggested weakly.

"That's not even remotely the same thing!" Naoto said, a little louder than she intended. She then coughed, and added in a more normal voice. "Please, it's very important to my enjoyment of the show."

"Ok, Ok..." Chie said. "Okay, so how's this sound? First my place to grab a few DVDs, get some beef bowls at Aoya, and then we head to your place?"

"It sounds splendid." Naoto agreed. "My grandfather is out so we'll have free reign of the house. I don't mean to boast but we do have quite an excellent entertainment system."

"Awesome!" Chie said. "Not a moment to lose!"

.-

"Wow, this place is so... clean!" Chie said, looking around. Naoto's living room had been covered along the walls with bookshelves with literally hundreds of books. There was a whole load of detective novels, mystery and action manga, and even some American comics. All of it was meticulously organized by genre and author.

Chie quickly thought to what a mess her room had been -bras left lying on the floor and DVDs scattered haphazardly into piles that were lucky if they made it to he shelf.

"Yes, well..." Naoto said. "Sherlock Holmes said that both the minds and the rooms one lives in should be well organized. I simply try to follow admirable examples."

"I see..." Chie looked down. She had gotten excited by Naoto's fondness for Featherman. This might have been a mistake. Naoto was much smarter than her by far. She was going to just embarrass herself here, wasn't she. "Sorry you had to see that mess."

"Not a problem." Naoto said. "I fully understand that we all need a space we all need facilitated to our personal needs." she said. "It's difficult enough to feel comfortable out there. What are people like us to do if we don't at least feel comfortable at home?"

_People like us_. Chie had never thought about it, especially since the two of them rarely talked outside of meetings, but the two of them did have a lot in common. Chie had learned about Naoto that she felt uncomfortable about how she was viewed by others. About how'd she be viewed differently for being a girl. It was a little different for Chie, but the same in a lot of ways. She liked a lot of boy things, and -especially put next to Yukiko- she didn't seem very feminine to a lot of people.

They might not be 'girly' but the both were girls, and seemed to be frustrated by the same things.

After the pause, Naoto added. "I apologize if the sterile atmosphere makes to feel unwelcome."

"St- wha?" Chie asked, snapped out of her thoughts. "Nah, it feels homey in a way... and this TV! Ohmigod it's huge!"

"Yes, well..." Naoto began. "My family has had a large amount of back capitol. I've managed to convince my grandfather to get this television, as well as HD channels. He even watches Featherman and Kamen Rider with me sometimes."

"Oh man!" Chie said. "We gotta have like a party with everyone here where we all bring movies we like and watch them. Oh man, wouldn't that be awesome?"

"I suppose..." said Naoto, not certain how comfortable she would be having so many people in her house at once. "But for now, I think we should just focus on what we intend to watch right now."

Chie's eyes lightened up again like she had forgotten the reason they had come there in the first place. "Oooh yeah! Let's watch some kung fu action! I can't wait. You know, the old ones don't have any CGI or wires! It's all the kung fu talent of the guys in the costume."

"I was aware." Naoto said. "There is a purity to be found in the old age storytelling, particularly in how it isn't concerned with subtlety. They don't bother to hide the metaphors."

There was a bit of bitterness in Naoto's voice. She went to grab the DVDs of Featherman which hadn't even been taken out of it's plastic yet. After struggling for a few minutes Naoto finally sighed and placed the box down. "I'll go get a knife."

"Ooh nonono. I can do it." Chie said, grabbing the DVD case, then pausing to look at Naoto. "...If it's okay? Do you have some thing where you like to open DVDs yourself."

"No, by all means." Naoto said. "Go ahead."

To Naoto's surprise, Chie had unwrapped the entire thing and even taken off the sealing sticker faster than Naoto could ever had. There wasn't even any residue on the the case. "Here you go." Chie said.

"This is quite impressive, Satonaka-san." Naoto said. "It's always incredibly frustrating to have leftover residue on the cases."

"Aw, shucks." Chie said. "I just have a lot of practice is all."

"Be that as it may, it's very impressive." Naoto said, pulling out the first disc. "Shall we begin then?"

.-

To Naoto's chagrin, Chie was one of those people who would speak out the lines she really liked in conjunction with the movie. The two of them had both been relatively silent during Featherman, both engaged in the show, but as soon as Naoto had agreed to put in Trial of The Dragon, things had changed.

"Be it with fist, blade, or even you venomous words!" Chie shouted in time with Johnny Liu. "Any blow with such evil behind it will never be able to fell me!"

Naoto was... significantly less interested in this than in Featherman. She couldn't deny the martial expertise of the fighters and it was enjoyable to watch, but she couldn't find stories of revenge quite as palatable as ones fighting for justice.

After the movie ended, Chie finally spoke up. "Hey, Naoto thanks for inviting me." She nervously fidgeted. "Yukiko never really wants to watch stuff like this with me. I mean she's my best friend and all, but I think she just kinda sees it as a 'boy' thing."

"Yukiko is far more... traditionally feminine than us." Naoto said. "I think she is probably put off by it."

"Yeah..." Chie said. "It's kind of weird being friends with her sometimes because, you know... she's so girly and I'm... really not. All the guys tend to look at her first. Not that it's her fault or anything. I know she doesn't want all that attention but still..."

"I personally think they're cheating themselves." Naoto said. "If they choose to ignore you due to some superficial characteristics, it's their loss. Besides... erm... you're a lot better at being feminine than I am..."

"But you're so cool though." Chie said. "You're not scared to be who you are completely! Me... I'm kind of trapped... haha the carnivore who's discarded womanhood, huh? Not really accurate for me, is it? I talk about being manly and stuff but really... I'm trapped between these two things I want to be."

"I know one or two things about that." Naoto said. "You're not alone there and Chie..." Naoto laid her hand on Chie's. "I don't think trying to make yourself one thing or the other will make you happy. I tried to do that, and all it led to was me lying to myself and isolating myself from others. It wasn't until you and the others came along and discovered my..." Naoto allowed herself a sardonic smile. "...my dirty little secret that I began to feel more comfortable. I felt like I belonged somewhere."

"I... don't really get it." Chie said. "But, thanks."

"I'm just saying that you're not 'trapped' just because you don't do what other people expect you to. You're just you." Naoto said.

"I guess so." Chie said, snaking her fingers between Naoto's, comforted by the feel of human contact.

"Don't let anyone tell you differently." Naoto said. "I think you're a fantastic woman."

"You too, Naoto." Chie blushed a little. "Honestly, I think you're the prettiest of us all."

Naoto quickly blushed much more deeply. "I... uh... thank you, but..." Naoto desperately tried to regain her mental bearings. "I'm really not that attractive. Ignoring that I generally try to hide myself, I certainly could not compete with Rise or Yukiko... or even you."

This time it was Chie's turn to blush. "Oh nonononono!" She insisted. "I'm always all sweaty and messy and I even cut my hair short so I wouldn't have to comb it as much. I'm like... the uber tomboy. There's no way I'm prettier than you."

Naoto gave her another smile. "I will have to respectfully disagree... your personality... your energy is what makes you so attractive. You're willing to not hide yourself. I find that very admirable... and very attractive as well."

There was a pause, as the two women simply looked at each other for a few seconds. Chie reddened a bit then pushed herself towards Naoto, planting her lips on the other girl's. Naoto's eyes widened and then quickly pushed back.

"Ch-... Chie, what was-" Naoto stammered.

"Ohmigod I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I'll just go!" Chie spoke like she was trying to do a tongue twister and was failing miserably. "It's just that you said you found me attractive and and and..."

"...you reciprocate?" Naoto asked.

"...I don't know what that means." said Chie. Her skin had become incredibly red and looked like she was going to faint.

"It means you feel the same way."

"Oh..." Chie said. "Y-... yeah... I know we don't talk much, but you're really smart and tough... and pretty... I'm sorry for surprising you."

"It's alright..." Naoto said. "It's just that I've never been kissed by a g- by anyone, really."

Chie couldn't bring herself to look at Naoto. "I'm really really sorry! I shouldn't have! I'll go now."

Before Naoto could say anything Chie had grabbed her shoes and bolted out the door, not even bothering to put them on.

"...I never said I objected..."

.-

Naoto didn't see Chie the next day. Or the day after. They didn't take the same classes and mid-terms being what they were, they didn't have a lot of time to interact in school and Chie seemed to be deliberately avoiding her usual hangouts. She could be frustratingly wily when she wanted to be.

Naoto wished she could speak to someone. There was always to option to talk to Narukami-san or Kanji or even Rise but what would she even say? That she and Chie had made out after watching kids shows? Naoto somehow doubted that would go over quite well. Now that she was finally surrounded by people she cared about, she was afraid to bring something up that would jeopardize that friendship. Irony thy name was human interaction.

Instead of talking to anyone, she went back to her house. She spared a moment to look at the Featherman DVD case on the table. They had never gotten to the Johnny Liu episodes Chie wanted to see and the thought made her stomach churn. She simply left the TV room and headed to her own. She scanned around her room, looking for one of the books she hadn't finished yet and picked it up, hoping to be distracted, and gave up after ten minutes of trying. The words seemed to refuse to stay still and her mind seemed too preoccupied with Chie to be willing to follow the them.

Naoto gave a mighty sigh and threw the paperback against the wall. "It was probably the butler anyways." she grumbled.

Naoto was incredibly worried about Chie now. She was worried that Chie would think Naoto hated her, that she'd be feeling terrible, she was mostly worried that -ridiculous as it was- she'd never see Chie again and that her last lingering memories of their time spent together would be this awkward fear.

Was this kind of trouble something she'd have to deal with with friends all the time.

For the first time, Naoto was beginning to envy her formerly isolated lifestyle.

.-

It had been four days since Chie had been such an idiot. She had barely spoken to anyone about this and it was driving her nuts. How long could she keep this up? She'd have to talk to Naoto again eventually.

She wanted to talk to Naoto again.

She needed to talk to someone, but she felt uncomfortable telling Yukiko. Well, not uncomfortable. It was more that she didn't think Yukiko could help. Yukiko knew her best, but Yukiko was also shy and Chie suspected Yukiko still thought you could get pregnant from holding hands. She really needed to talk to somehow who knew her and would at least be able to provide some response.

She couldn't believe who she was calling.

"Hey Yosuke?"

"Yeah, what's up, Chie?" asked Yosuke.

"I need to talk to you about something in person." After a pause she added. "But first, you have to promise you're not going to tell anyone. And I mean _anyone_. Not Yukiko, not Yu, not your parents, not even Buddha or I will break you in half, _got it?_"

"Ummmm... well when you put it that way, sure." Yosuke said nervously. "I'll be over in a few minutes."

It felt like Yosuke was taking longer than usual but that was probably nerves or something else. When Yosuke finally came home, Chie dragged him into her room and furiously locked the door.

"Chie, what's this about?" Yosuke asked nervously. "Because if it's what I think it is... I think you're really cool and all, but you're like a sister to me..."

"What?" Chie said, confused for a moment. "Ew! As if! Get the hell over yourself!" after a pause she added. "It's kind of the subject that what I wanted to talk to you about though."

Yosuke raised an eyebrow. "Boy trouble?"

"Not exactly." she said "See I was spending some time with Naoto and we were watching movies and talking and I... I kissed her."

"What?" Yosuke said. After he was able to register -and more importantly visualize- what Chie had just said he was physically incapable of voicing his thoughts. "That is so h-"

"If you finish that sentence I'm going to kick you in the dick so hard it'll go inside and you'll turn into a girl." Chie snarled.

"Okay, Okay..." Yosuke said defensively. "I just uh... didn't know you were into girls."

"Neither did I." Chie said. "I still don't know if I am! I just it was like... a thing that happened! And then she looked at me all weird and I freaked out and I ran out the door!"

"Naoto didn't say anything?" Yosuke said.

"She said some things, but I was just so flustered and I-" Chie paused to take a breath. "She probably thinks I'm some psycho lesbo or something."

"I... kinda doubt that." Yosuke said. "Well, did you apologize?"

"Yeah..." Chie said.

"Anything bad?"

"Not really.. but it's just! She looked so freaked out!"

"Well, I think that has more to do with you being you than about you being a girl."

"You really want that kick to the nuts, don't you?" Chie growled.

"Hey listen." Yosuke said defensively. "I'm just saying it probably had more to do with it being unexpected. Listen, Naoto's not one to hold grudges or be unreasonable. I mean if she didn't like the kiss, then just talk it out, clear the air, and everything should return to normal, right?"

Yosuke made a good point, but could things really go back to normal after something like that? Would she want it to?

But still, going back to normal, being just friends with Naoto would be better than never seeing her again. Even if they never watched another Featherman episode together.

"Thanks, Yosuke." Chie said. "You can be a jackass, but you're still a good friend."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." Yosuke said.

"And like I said," Chie said sternly. "If you tell anyone I will freaking murder you."

"Duly noted."

.-

Naoto was surprised to see Chie fidgeting nervously by her foot locker. "My detective skills must be becoming dull." she said. "I never would have deduced that you'd have been here the whole time."

"Listen, I really sorry." she said. "And not for the kiss. Well for the kiss too, but mostly that I ran away and didn't say anything. It'll never happen again."

"Satonaka-san..." Naoto said. "Perhaps we should have this conversation in private."

"Oh..." Chie said. "...right."

.-

They had gone to Naoto's house and on the way Naoto had even suggested watching some more Featherman when the discussion was done.

"I won't deny that I was very hurt when you stormed out." Naoto said. "I would have liked to talk about what you did a bit more."

"Like I said, I'm sorry. It'll never happen again."

Naoto blushed a bit as she responded. "I.. I would be very disappointed if that were the case."

"Wait, what?" Chie said, wondering if the shame had caused some sort of delirium.

"I did say I found you attractive." Naoto said. "It wasn't a lie." She stepped forward nervously, closing the distance between the two of them.

"You really mean it?" Chie said, still somewhat confused.

"I feel the same way about you." Naoto confirmed. "The difference is I'm going to ask first. Sato- Chie... is it alright if I kiss you?"

"Uh-huh..." Chie agree dazedly.

Naoto held Chie by the shoulders gently and kissed her lightly. Chie brought her arms around Naoto and intensified the kiss. Electric sensations went through Naoto's brain. It was new sensation she had never felt before, hard to compare to anything. It was slightly painful, causing her to stir, but it also felt similar to an adrenaline rush, the thrill of a mystery. It was awkward and electric and energizing. Naoto could only come to one conclusion.

More investigation was necessary.

Naoto's lips traveled down, beginning to move down Chie's chin and to her neck as her hands began to travel under Chie's shirt.

"Oooh... this is moving a little fast..." Chie said backing away a bit.

"I-I'll stop..." Naoto said. "I'm sorry. I was excited. That was unbecoming of m-eek!"

Chie had slapped her rear.

"What was that for?" Naoto cried.

"I just wanted to try it out." Chie said with a giggle. "I... think I can deal with fast from you... whoo are you warm?" Chie said, blushing a little. "I think I'm a little warm." She unzipped her jacket and unbuttoned her shirt a bit.

"Do you want... to continue then?" Naoto said, finding it incredibly hard to think.

"Geez, you're not very good at being a detective tonight are you?" Chie moved in again and kissed her as she began to unbutton her shirt and let her hands snake behind her back, undoing her bra clasp. As the the bra slipped down, not completely off, Chie moved her hands and lightly rubbed Naoto's left breast, eliciting another small shriek from her.

"I- I'm really new to this." Naoto explained defensively.

"It's my first time too." Chie explained.

"No, _really _new." Naoto said. "I've never even engaged in... erm self-stimulation."

"Oh..." Chie said, not quite getting it. "_Oh. _Well, um, just kinda... do what you think would feel good. If it hurts tell me." Chie's hand began massaging her breasts again.

"Duly noted." Naoto said half-heartedly. "Ermmm... also I'm having a little trouble standing. Maybe... if we could move to my room..."

Chie moved back and nodded and as they moved Naoto properly took off her shirt and bra. The awkwardness in the room was palpable. They had both simply been pawing at each other like beasts, no knowledge of technique or efficiency...

Still, she didn't want it to end.

She sat on the bed and Chie, finally noticing Naoto's half nude state, blushed. "Should I also..."

"It would make access easier yes." Naoto said.

"O-ok." Chie said, removing her shirt and taking off a sports bra as well. Chie was right, Naoto mused, she was rather sweaty, well-toned, tomboyish...

But she was also ridiculously beautiful. Naoto wasn't sure what litmus test she was using as she had never thought of people of either gender in that regard much, but she knew she liked looking at Chie... and that she liked feeling her even better.

"Should I lead then...?" Chie said. "Ermm... top?"

"...please." Naoto said. Chie nodded and gently pushed her down to lie on the bed. Chie fumbled, not sure what to do as she let her mouth travel, but Naoto certainly didn't noticed her uncertainty. She was a bit busy trying to maintain some form of composure in the pleasure she was experiencing. The tiny whimpers she was giving indicated her failure.

"It doesn't hurt, does it?" Chie asked nervously.

"No... not at all." Naoto responded, sounding winded. "Please continue."

Chie finally began to slide off Naoto's pants and panties, and began to lean down in front of it.

Even the sensation of Chie's face being that close to Naoto's nether regions was bewitching. It grew even worse as Chie began to waggle her tongue between her folds.

"Oh god!" Naoto cried, unable to keep any composure. "What is- AAAAH!" Naoto hazily mused that it was a good thing they had gone to her bedroom because if they had tried this standing up she would have toppled over Chie.

Chie hadn't spent long between Naoto's legs, but Naoto had lost her head for time... and most other rational thought. Finally Chie, moved out, her chin somewhat damp and was looking at Naoto, almost hungrily.

"Should I try... something similar?" Naoto asked breathlessly.

"I-if you want..." Chie said, flopping down beside Naoto.

Naoto did want to. She sat up, crawling under Chie's legs and pulling off her biker shorts, but allowing her skirt to still rest over her head. Hoping to tread the water first, Naoto decided to use her fingers first, pushing one in between the folds of the breathless Chie.

"Ah! Ah!" Chie cried reflexively. She began to squirm, which made Naoto's job a little difficult until Naoto managed to position herself so that Chie couldn't move around as much. Chie was still moving her hips with the fingers and eventually they were prompting her to move faster and faster until Chie had had enough. "Naooootoooo!" she cried until her hips finally buckled one last time and stopped.

"That... that was something." Chie said.

"It certainly was." Naoto said. "I apologize for my inexperience."

"That's fine..." Chie said, almost dreamily. "We should do this again at some point."

"It will be somewhat more challenging when my grandfather returns." Naoto said. "Though, perhaps for next time... I've heard there are some books that are... educational on the subject. Perhaps we can study them."

"Geez, even sex requires reading?" Chie said, a hint of frustration coming into her voice.

"I'm sure there will be helpful pictures as well." Naoto said with a chuckle. "For now, I think we should wait until I can move my legs properly."

"Oh!" Chie said. "While I'm here we should watch some more Featherman!"


End file.
